LAPTOP RESCUE

It's official - my laptop has been rescued from the brink of annihilation. Back home again where it belongs, it is humming along quite nicely, with a nice, bright screen again. It’s also picked up speed, as I had a little more memory installed while they were working on it.

The problem was a bad inverter. The part cost $99; the labor cost $99. It wasn’t exactly a cheap fix, but it was cheaper than any of the local estimates, with parts alone costing $250-$500, and labor $25 for every 15 minutes.

In case you ever have a problem with your laptop and are unable to fix it yourself, I highly recommend Laptop Rescue. To give you a feel for how long it takes from sick to well computer, here’s the timeline:

Monday, August 20th: The light goes out on the monitor.
Tuesday, August 21st: Contacted Laptop Rescue; special shipping box ordered.
Thursday, August 23rd: The box arrived and I packed up the laptop.
Friday, August 24th: UPS picked up the box for shipment to Laptop Rescue.
Tuesday, August 28th: Got an email saying they’d received my laptop in the morning, and by late afternoon another email asking me to call about options for fixing it.
Wednesday, August 29th: Talked to rep about repairs needed and price, gave the okay for fixing it – they started working on it as we spoke, and mailed it back the same day.
Friday, August 31: Computer delivered back to my door.

In other words, 10 days from the time I contacted Laptop Rescue about repairs until I had the laptop back in my possession. It would have been only 7 days if I had packaged the computer myself and sent it, instead of waiting on the special shipping box to arrive from Maryland.

However, the box was well cushioned with special foam, made to fit a laptop and prevent any damage during transit, and came with shipping insurance. It was delivered to my door with a shipping label inside, so once I packed up the computer, I could have UPS pick up the package right at my door instead of having to drive to one of their shipping locations. It made shipping safe and easy, but if you’re in a hurry, you could save time by packaging and shipping the computer yourself.

Would I do the same thing if I had to do it all over again?

Ask me again in a year or two. If this computer is still chugging away, then yes, it was well worth the cost. If it dies within the next few months, ouch, it was a bad gamble and a waste of money. Then the cost of repairs, $18 shipping each way, and extra money I paid because I was in a time crunch and opted for the higher priced, guaranteed quicker turn-around time, would have been a nice chunk towards the cost of a new laptop.

But for now I’m quite happy to have my laptop back and in working order. It is soooooo much nicer to be able to sit on the couch and shift around as needed to change the point of contact and pain, than being stuck in a chair in front of the desktop computer.

Thank you Laptop Rescue!